Tips for turning parts on manual lathes, part 1

The following are tips for enhancing the operation of a manual lathe.

• Machinists can do small work on large lathes but not large work on small lathes. Therefore, buy a lathe a little bigger than you think you might need.

• Put target score marks on raw material for fast roughing. Touch off the tool and use a scale to make reference marks so you can reduce measuring time. Rip and tear down close to the lines and then pull out your finer measuring tools.

• Use quick-change tool posts. Make sure you have plenty of tool blocks. I hate it when a lack of tooling interferes with productivity.

• Always leave a boring bar set up in a tool block. A good starting point for general-purpose work is a ½ ” or ⅝” boring bar. When tooling the bar, use indexable inserts if many different people use the machine so they can quickly change inserts, if needed. CCMT or WNMG inserts are a good compromise. You can switch insert geometry easily for different materials. WNMG inserts have six cutting edges, providing good economy. We set ours up with the thought of having one insert optimized for harder materials and one for softer materials.

All images courtesy of T. Lipton

Put score marks on raw material for fast roughing.

• Set up a dedicated turning tool block so it misses the quill on the tailstock when the tool point is on-center. This eliminates repositioning the tool when using the tailstock to support work.

• Keep two parting blades set up: one neutral and the other with a couple of degrees left-hand angle.

• Keep a long, double-ended, 45° chamfer bit set up all the time at each lathe. It is extremely handy for edge breaks and quick facing. The double end allows you to use it on both axes’ ID and OD.

• Never modify someone else’s hand-ground tool left in a tool block. You might as well ask to borrow his toothbrush. Just take it out and leave it on top of the lathe.